Unraveling the Complexities of White Privilege

Privilege, particularly white privilege, is hard to recognize and embrace for those of us who were born into such power. It is not a system of taking or not taking, but rather an advantage that society gives me when I am born. It is institutional, and unless I work to bring changes to fix an institution that allows me to prosper on other’s oppression, it is a privilege I will continue to receive whether I want it or not. The dictionary definition of privilege states that privilege is “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people.” (Merriam-webster, 2016) For those of us who are white, one of the many privileges we possess is being able just see ourselves as individuals. It is

A prime example of this is as stated by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Case for Reparations, Clyde Ross’ experience with blockbusting in the 1930s to 1960s, when black people were largely excluded from the home-mortgage market. Coates describes how Ross became a victim to blockbusting when the seller of his house sold it to him for more than double the original price. Buying a mortgage for a house was not possible for Clyde because of the FHA, who adopted a system of maps that rated neighborhoods according to their perceived stability, which was structured around race and because of this system, so settling down and paying for a house made it extremely difficult for African Americans living in these neighborhoods. (Coates, 2014) It was a systematic roadblock that made living difficult for African American communities, but did not harm white ones. The criminal justice system also works to protect privileges for white people. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice report showed that black males are three times more likely to be stopped by the police and have their cars searched than white males, although white males are over four times more likely to have illegal substances in their vehicles when they are searched. (Wise, 2008 as cited in Sensoy, 2012) Many people of color who have been incarcerated have attended underfunded, deteriorating schools, have had poor access to heath care, have historically been denied mortgages, and have received inequitable treatment in every other major institution that would have given them their children and equal starting point in life. These examples do not reflect lack of responsibility or a flaw in our society, but institutional racism that oppresses people of color at the hand of white